Engine primer for automobiles



T. J. McCARTHY.

ENGINE PRIMER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1919.

1,418,591. PatentedJun 6, 1922.-

2 SHEETS-:SHEETJ- ,T. J. McCART HY. ENGINE PRIMER FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, I919.

1,418,591. 7 Y PatentedJune 6,1922;

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- THOMAS J. MCCARTHY, or EWARK, ew anasnn. J

ENGINE, PRIMER, FOR. AU'roMo II iEs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, ratehteaoiine 6.19212.

Application filed September 6, 1919. Serial No. 322,144. Q-

T 0 all whom it may concern Be ,it known that I, THOMAS J. 'Mo

CART Y, a citizen of the United States, rev siding at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented cer-.

tain new and useful Improvements in Engine Primers forAutomobiles, of which the following is'a specification.

My.invention relates to improvements'in priming and deca-rbonizing devices for internal combustion engines.-

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of means acting independent of the carbureter whereby a properly proportioned rich and thoroughly vaporized combustible mixture will be delivered to the cylinders of the engine for the initial or starting impulseand until the engine assumes its normal operation. 7

ly invention further comprehends a manually operated device which will effect a saving in fuelfand permit a finer or closer adjustment of the carbureter, and which may be readily attached to existing machines. H

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.

Briefly stated, my priming device comprises a small casing attached to the underside of the foot-board with the stem of the control valve projecting therethrough, the casing containing a chamber or reservoir in direct communication with the auxiliary tankof the usual vacuum feed system, and having a vaporizing channel provided with an ,air inlet and in direct communicatlon with the engine manifold. The reservoir is thus always filled with a small quantity of fuel readyv to be drawn into the vaporizing channel and transformed into a vaporby the impact of the inrushing stream of air as soon as it is released by pressing the foot on the valve stem,'which is done as soon as the engine is turned over by the starting motor, thereby creating a suction to draw the vapor into the cylinders.

I In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a convenienta'nd practical form, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an engine provided with my priming attachment; Fig. 2

is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 1s a partial side elevation ofthe engineshowing a modified arrangement of the tubes or conduits connecting the primer'with the engine manifold; Fig. 4:, is a longitudinal sectional view through the priming device;Fig. 5, is a transverse section on the line 5-5 [of Fig 4:; Fig, 6 is ayplan view, partly 'in jsection. of. one form or. branched nipple to'connect' the conduit tubes to the manifold; ig. 7 is alongitudinal sectionalview of the draining device included in the -vapor conduit,- from the radiator; Fig. 8: is transverse sectional view on the. line. 88 of Fig. 7;

and Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view ment of Fig. The. enginewhich may be any typeusually employed in automobiles, is indicated conventionally at 1, having the water; jacket. connected tothe radiator '52 and thecarbit: reter 4 connected to the intake-manifold .6. The fuel, feed reservoir -10 of the usual of the pipe connector shown in thearrangeployed is indicated at the ,back oflthe dash board 11. Lhave not considered it necessary to show the usualconduits connecting this reservoir with the supply tank at the rear of the carland-with the inlet nipple of the carbureten' as these are well under; stood. I i My foot-controlled priming attachment comprises a casing 15, providedwith nipples 16 and 17 for attachmentrespectively to the conduits 19 connected to the tank 10,;an'd the conduit QOleading to the inlet manifold. The inlet ort l6 in the nipple 16,,opens into a cham er 24;, which is closedxat the outer end by the nut 25 and at theinner end by the valve 26;.w-hic'h is held against its seat by the spring'28. The chamber 2a is at all times in direct communication ,with the fuel reservoir 10 and consequently is constantly filled with liquid fuel. The stem vacuum feed system now commonly em- 27 carrying the valve 26, projects through a boss or tubular extension 29 onthe upper side of the casing and isprovided with within a recess253 in the nut 25,.thestem beingthus guided at each end ensuring an accurate seating of the valve at all times.

through the nipple17, this channel constituting a vaporizing chamber. A passage (l0, connects-the closed end of the channel 37 with the annular space 24E which constitutes an extension of thechamber 24: when the valve 26 is open, but is completely closed when the valve is. seated. I

An air inlet port 42, intercepts the wall of the vaporizing channel in the same transverse plane with the passage l0 and at an acute angle therewith so that the inrushing jet of air will meet the fine stream of liquid fuel issuing from the passage 40, the impact causing the liquid to be broken up into a very fine spray which is thoroughly mixed with the air as it passes through the channel,

being substantially converted into a vapor as it enters the conduit 20. To prevent the in gress of dust and dirt the air inlet is pref erably provided with a perforated-cap or screentfx v The conduit 20 is preferably led into the manifold 6 adjacent each end and may be provided with a-Y-connector 47 from which the branches 20, lead to the threaded nipples 48., tapped into the Walls of'tlie manifold. In rder that the vaporized priming mixture may be discharged at .the most effective points Iprefer to lead the vapor fuel from the nipples to a point adjacent the inlet valves l9 by tubes 50 projecting within the manifold as indicated in Fig. '2.

The operation of my improved priming device will be understood from the foregoing detailed description of the structural parts. When it is desired to start the car, the starting motor is actuated to turn the engine over, the movement of the pistons creating a suction within the cylinders. The button,

80 is then depressed to pen the valve 26 and permit the fuel to be drawn from the 'cham-' ber 24 throughlthe passage lO, where it impacts with the jet of air enteringthrough the inlet 42. This causes-the liquidto be broken up into a fine, spray and as it mixes with the air it becomes thoroughly vaporized in passing through the channel 37 forming a highly explosive mixture ready to explode as soon as'it is subjected to the spark within the combustion space in the engine cylinders. The engine, therefore, receives successive impulses in the cylinders instantly without waiting for the formation of an explosive mixture from'the carbureter and before this takes place the engine is perating under its own power thereby" greatly relieving the starting motor. In fact the starting with my priming device seems to be almost instantaneous. The chamber 2 f will be immediately refilled from the reservoir so that the primer will be ready for another priming operation if it should be necessary for any T his apparently furnishes the oxygen necessary to more complete combustion within the cylinders and not only decreases the carbon deposit but to a certain extent increases the power obtained. I have, therefore, arranged the air inlet 42 upon the engine side ofthe valve 26, so that after the priming operation said inlet will serve as an auxiliary air supply.- The importance of this feature will be appreciated by those familiar with the operation of internal combustion engines.

' It is well known that it is desirable to introduce a small amount of steam or Vapor into the fuel mixture since it has the effectof decreasing the deposit of'carbon and possibly other advantageous features. While it is not an essential adjunctto'my priming device, I have provided means for introduc' ing the vapor which rises fromthe water in v the radiator into the manifold through" the same connections which conduct the priming mixture. the tube 60, which-receives the vapor or steam from the upperspace in the radiator, to one of the branches of a Y nipple 4,8,as

illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, or by first uniting the conduits 20 and by adou'ble branched connector 62 as indicated in Figs.

3 and 9, from which the mixed vaporand fuel intermingle and flow into the manifold through the branches 20 "One of the di'fliculties heretofore encountered in the introduction of vapor 'has'been" due to the freezing of the condensed water in the tube after the enginehas'cooled"down in cold weather. I introduce into the tubeor conduit" 60, a valved'drain 65 which is provided with a drip nipple 65 having' a ball 67 which rolls against a stop'pin 68 when the engine is not in opei'atiipmallowing any water torun out of the outer open end of the nipple. During the operation of the engine the suction pulls the ball inwardly against its seat, thereby closing the drip opening. In orderthat the ball may roll directly against its seat the is provided with guide bore of the nipple ribs 69.

My improved priming device issimple in structure andis easily installed or applied to engines as commonly constructedand' has proven to be'a valuable adjunct to the self starting mechanism, greatly reducing the effort required and efiecting a material saving of the batteries.

'1 claim:

This may be done by connecting To obviate this difficulty 1. A foot-board engine primer for auto'- mobiles, comprising an engine having an intake manifold, a footboard on which said primer is mounted, a casing having a CllfiJIlber provided with an inlet port adapted to be directly connected to a source ofliquid fuel to maintain the chamber full of fuel, a

vaporizing channel, a passage connecting said chamber and said channel, a spring-n pressed valve operating within said chamber to normally close saidpassage, said valve having a stem extending through thecasing and adapted to project above the foot-board, an air inlet intercepting said channel in alinement with said passage and oblique thereto, and a conduit connecting said va-, porizing channel Withthe engine manifold;

ber provided with an inlet port adapted to be directly connected to a source of liquid fuel to maintain the chamber full of fuel,

an outlet port communicating with a va--. 'porizing channel in sa1d cas1ng, an'a1r inlet intercepting said channel, a normally's eate'd valve voperating within said chamber to close I said outlet port, said valve havinga stem projecting through the casingand adapted to extend above the foot-board, anda con duit connecting said vaporizing channel with the engine manifold.

The combination with an explosive e ngine having the usual cylinders, inlet manifold and carbureter, provided vwith a fuel reservoir supplying the carbureter, of .a 1 priming device having a chamber to. contain liquid fuel for priming the' cylinlderand con-j,

'nected by a gravityfeed to said reservoir,

to maintain'it filledwith fuel a footboard onfi which said priming device is mounted, a vaporlzln channel connectedby a conduit with the inlet manifold, a, passage connect: I mg sa1d chamber and sa1d channel, an air inlet lntercept ngsald channel ,ln-allnement with said passage," and a normally seated valve operating "within said chamber to close said passage and having a stem adapted to project above the foot-board. H In testimony ,whereofI afiix my signature. g

THoM s J. McQARTHY. 

